Ocean breeze, warm heat, beautiful scenery and some of my best friends in the whole world. It was the perfect vacation/photography retreat that I desperately needed before our big move last summer from Ottawa to Edmonton, Alberta. I can’t believe it’s been a year and that I can’t just drive there this year. Cape Cod holds such a special place in my heart…even for an island girl from Victoria. I don’t know what it is, but there’s just something about this place that I long for and one day I will be back!!
Here’s a load of photographs that were taken in various places on Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard. I hope you enjoy them!
Shona xo
This post is long overdue…Like almost 2 years overdue…
I had always wanted to go to Chicago as I had heard it was a fantastic city and well, ER was filmed there. Ya, I’m old. So when the opportunity to meet up with a bunch of photographer friends presented itself (all former attendees of the Pinkle Toes Workshop), I jumped on it as fast as possible!
Best.decision.ever.
These girls have become my lifeline in so many ways it’s not funny. We are trying to meet up yearly as we live all over the place (Leah in Dallas, Michele in Austin, Carol my fellow Canuck in Winnipeg, Heidi in St. Louis, Janie in Kansas, Minnette in Houston, Stacy in Preoria (central Illinois), Lena in New Jersey, Sarah in Methuen (outside of Boston) and sweet sweet MeeMaw…Michele’s Mom and former office manager). Since I moved to St. Albert I am sadly the furthest away…boo! Oh well, we talk almost daily and have subsequently met up in Cape Cod, Maine and are currently planning our next reunion for June <insert stupid happy grin here>.
Here’s a not so brief synopsis of our weekend in Chicago…
Day 1 saw lots of site seeing (I was giddy to go see the Chicago sign and the L Train where Dr. John Carter…aka Noah Wyle ran up before heading to the ER…okay, I’ll stop) and a stop into Trader Joes…since I’d never been to one before.
Day 2 started out with shopping (yup, a few of us bought a Tiffany’s “Bean” necklace), seeing some sights along Michigan Ave and PF Changs for a late lunch/snack/supper whatever!
Oh! And did I tell you we met and got our photo with Nick Jonas. Heck ya we did 😉 Can you say Cougar??
We then cleaned up and got ready for a photo session with some underprivileged teens who wrote essays on why they wanted to have their photographs taken. They were really sweet girls and taking photos at the Navy Pier was fan-freaking-tastic! None of those photos are included, but a bunch of us goofing off are 🙂
Yes, we road there in a limo, but it was cheaper for all of us to dog pile into the thing…
We took the little trolly back to the hotel and the restaurant where we had a late, but yummy dinner.
Then we pretended to sleep…
Day 3 began early… I thought the girls were nuts to want to go photograph “The Bean” at 7 in the morning (I had no idea what it was or why we were doing this), but I went with it and boy am I glad I did. Not only was the light beautiful, but the crowds of people shortly thereafter was nuts! Now I love watching movies where I can see Millennium Park and The Bean. So fun!
Later that day, we took a food tour that was fantastic! Everything from REAL Chicago style hotdogs to frozen hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows! It’s a good thing it was a walking tour through Wicker Park as well.
We had not so brilliantly made reservations for a late super at Sunda, but like troopers, we sucked it up (okay in) and went 🙂
After another late night it was time to go home…boo!
A fantastic weekend with fantastic friends! Makes me smile to relieve it and the best part is we made a photo book so that we all have each others different take on everything we saw them together. So very cool to see how everyone “sees” things!! And if you haven’t been to Chicago…go!
Shona xo
After being in Victoria with my Mom, I had the pleasure and privilege of attending the Shannon Sewell Workshop in Red Deer, Alberta at the end of April. Thankfully the stars aligned and I was able to spend a good chunk of time with my Mom AND get to attend the workshop! I was one lucky girl!
Let me first say it was a pleasure meeting Shannon. She was extremely down to earth and forthcoming with her knowledge. She also brought Jeff Holt who is an amazing photographer from Charlotte, NC. They packed a lot into that one day workshop and left me with more questions than answers…which is a good thing. Vision/style whatever you want to call it has to come from within and as an artist, only you can figure that out. It’s a process and it ebbs and flows. And that’s okay! They inspired me to be better, to try new things and, on some level, gave me permission to fail. Sounds absurd, I know, but that is how we grow.
Thank you for a wonderful day!
Shona
After leaving my Mom, I flew to Calgary, AB. You’d think by all the traveling I did in March/April (4 provinces!) I was some major jet setter, but lets be honest…I have two small children. Travel just doesn’t happen like it used to…especially by myself!
Although my time in Alberta was cut short and I didn’t get to see all the people I wanted to see, I made the most out of it! First up was coffee with some amazing Calgary area photographers who have been very supportive and generous with their time. If you’re in the Calgary area, be sure to check them out: Brandy Anderson, Danna Bowes, Alicia Price & Dana Pugh.
After a brief pit stop to pick up these tasty treats from Crave Cupcakes
I then made the pilgrimage to MY mountains. Yes, they’re mine. Didn’t you know I lay claim to all of the Canadian Rockies? An added bonus was visiting with some dear friends from way back and witnessing the mountains in all their glory after a beautiful, fresh spring snowfall…sigh…oh how I love them.
Next up was a drive thru memory lane on the way to my final destination of Red Deer, Alberta. My original reason for this trip was to attend a photography workshop and to visit some friends along the way while having a break on my own. I got all that and a bag of chips (literally). More on the workshop to follow!
The past month was a whirlwind of emotions, I will not lie. But out of trying times often comes laughter and perspective…I will try to be brief, but some background is required.
My Mom has been hobbling around with an increasingly sore hip since my son (now 3) was born. One minor injury turned into the need for a hip replacement and, of course with all surgery, the fear of the unknown. You see, I’m very lucky to even have my Mom here today. Eleven years ago she was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer, whisked in for surgery and began 6 long months of chemo. That was the same summer we were married. I think the wedding was a blessing in disguise as it helped to keep our minds on something more positive and tone down the bridzilla in me ;). See what I mean? Laughter and perspective.
Thankfully Mom has had great health since then. She’s also young and looking forward to being more active again (I’m serious when I say I can’t keep up with her…energizer bunny). However, to get to good health, she had to endure the joys of surgery again and the prospect of “what if”. Now as luck would have it, my Mother-in-law was going to be in town during the time I needed to be across the country (thank you!), so the stars aligned beautifully and I didn’t have to worry about my babies..okay, I still did, but more in a missing them way, than a what’s going on way. I guess I’m just in that “sandwich generation”. Looking after my kids, while giving back to my parents.
Well, the surgery went off without a hitch and she was so very grateful to come out of it with flying colours that we really wondered if she’d lost it those first few days in the hospital (drugs probably helped!!). “Oh, the food is sooo good here!” Really? “Everyone is so nice!” They were, but you’d think she’d gone to the spa for the weekend! Again, laughter and perspective. I also got to spend a quiet two weeks with my Mom….this just doesn’t really happen when you have two active children around, so it was very nice to just hang out together. Now the added bonus of all this was that I got to spend a few days with my brother and sister-in-law and you cannot help but laugh when you’re around my brother! He also let me “babysit” his iphone…ilove….
So, without further ado, here’s a few images from my time in Victoria. Happy Mother’s Day Mum and I’m so happy things are progressing so well!
Surrounded by tropical (and not so tropical 😉 ) flowers…
My brother and I shopping…this never ends well as neither one of us is very good at it and we’d rather goof around and drink coffee!
The beautiful blossoms in Beacon Hill Park.
Mt. Baker a hop, skip and a jump away.
And you can’t go to Victoria without some really yummy seafood!
Sorry I can’t be there today Mum, but enjoy your day regardless and know we’re all thinking of you!!
Part II of the trip coming soon!
Shona 🙂
The past month has been a little crazy, but I’m not complaining! I have managed to visit 4 provinces, see some old friends, visit with family, enjoy new sights and learn from some amazing teachers. Needless to say I have a lot of blogs lined up to go along with the rather full calendar of sessions I have lined up for May. Bare with me!
My first adventure was a fabulous mini-holiday to Montreal with my sister-in-law (thanks Kim!!!) and the kiddos. The weather was unseasonably warm and we took advantage of walking everywhere. We also learned that we both navigate far better above ground than below! 😉
Old Montreal is absolutely beautiful and I think Kim was sick of hearing me say, “Oh this would be an amazing spot for a session!” or “Can you wait a minute while I take a picture?” {of no doubt some obscure thing that I’m sure she thought I was nutso for taking a picture of in the first place} Thankfully she is as patient and forgiving of me as she is with the kids!
If you haven’t been to Montreal, Notre-Dame Basilica is a must. It’s just stunning!
We also visited the Biodome, Insectarium & Botanical Gardens to see the beautiful butterflies flying around us. The kids were quite impressed, but also a little disappointed that they wouldn’t just come and land on their hands like the chickadees at home! And as luck would have it, one did land on Auntie Kim so that just added fuel to the fire!
Thank you again Auntie Kim for a most wonderful birthday present! We had such a great time 🙂
Cows was a must this summer when we visited the beautiful island of PEI…yummy, yummy, yummy! It was great to see not only how the ice cream was made, but also the t-shirts and award-winning cheese (which I didn’t even know they made). It feels funny to blog this on December 1st, but why not!? Enjoy…and sorry for making you hungry!
While the leaves were still on the trees we beetled over to beautiful Gatineau Park to enjoy the trees, views, and well, crowds. Boy there’s a lot of people out and about at this time of year! Ah well, it was beautiful none-the-less. Here’s a few storyboards that I’ve created of the kiddies.
Enjoy!
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Well, all of my images from PEI are all over the place and long overdue to be blogged…My goal is to get them done sooner than later (I think I may need to be more specific on that!!). It was a fantastic vacation with mostly incredible weather (except for that one storm where I honestly thought the trailer was going to flip over!!!) and with loads of beach time. Unfortunately my “models” weren’t too cooperative in the image making department, but what can you do?
So here are few and I mean a few of the images that were captured…I’ll post more as I finish them.
These few sets were taken at Basin Head…It’s a BEAUTIFUL stretch of beach that, well, squeaks! It’s because of the high silica content and we had a ball just squishing it in our hands and toes and trying to see who could make it “sing” the loudest 🙂
The beach really is this beautiful…you can walk for miles and miles and miles. I was trying so hard to get a bunch of pictures involving the grass, but I had to cut it short. The ONLY drawback to this beach were the horse flies! Oh man, did they ever take large chunks out of my behind!!
More images to follow, but until then, enjoy 😉
So I think I’ve figured out where my headaches are stemming from…this little thing I’m staring at right now. Sheesh. I’m STILL going through a million and one pics from the west coast and my eyes are killing me from staring at this stinkin’ computer, but my deadline is fast approaching as we leave for the east coast on Saturday! Yup, you read that correctly…it’s a bi-coastal summer! Our plans still aren’t totally set, but we’re going to see where the island (PEI that is) takes us. Should be fun!!
Here’s a few more from Victoria – Willows Beach to be exact.
Happy Tuesday!